The Pariah Chronicles
by Kydus the Hedge
Summary: Mighty the Armadillo leaves Angel Island in order to find himself and solve the mysteries of his past. Based in Archie's Sonic world, he'll encounter many familiar and sinister faces along the way as he tries to regain the lost memories of his childhood.
1. Chapter I: Departure

_Author Notes_

_This story take place a month after the events of Archie Comics' 200th issue of Sonic the Hedgehog. However, I decided to change the outcome of those events, in such ways that__ the Iron Queen never came to assume control over the Empire, there were two deaths in the final assault against Eggman, and the Chaotix returned to Angel Island afterward instead of staying in New Mobotropolis._

_Other than those changes, you may assume that everything detailed in Archie's comic happened before my story takes, the characters know of it, etc, unless I note otherwise, which I will in certain scenarios. As such, my story's premise is largely in the world set up by Sonic SatAM and Archie's comic, and any deviations from the two are intentional. If you have no idea what I'm talking about or aren't familiar with either series, don't worry, I'll explain any necessary information as I go. Not everything, though, so basic knowledge of Sonic the Hedgehog lore would be of great advantage to you. Now then, enjoy the tale!_

* * *

**The Pariah Chronicles**

Chapter I: Departure

Button-down shirts, cloth pants, green scarf. Woven hammock, metal bo-staff, light rations. Survival kit, first-aid kit, photo album. All check. The red-shelled armadillo put his possessions carefully into his light-brown backpack, with the staff slid through the middle and poking out diagonally at both ends. He tenderly wrapped the deep-green scarf around his black-furred neck and gave his room one last sweeping look before walking through the stone interior to the door. He was going to miss his cave of a home, but not as much as he was anticipating setting out on his journey. There wasn't really much in there to miss in the first place. He had a wood dresser, a wood desk, a simple bed, and a closet. Really, it was the rest of the Chaotix he'd miss the most on his trip. They had been his closest friends ever since he exiled himself from the land of Mercia, where he was born. Angel Island had been good to him, but he felt it was time for him to go. He gripped the door's handle, pushed it open, and stepped outside of his cave onto his rocky deck, nestled at the base of a mountain. He climbed down a bit, and headed into the forest below at a comfortable walk. The armadillo's ears perked up as he heard the melodious birds in the trees above, his fur rippled with the cool morning breeze, his eyes slid shut for a moment, and he took a slow, deep breath, inhaling the fresh forest air. He smiled to himself, imagining how he'd wake up every morning to such a beautiful environment. Just that in itself was enough to warrant a trip.

After he had his fill of the immediate scenery, he proceeded on his way. Normally he wouldn't walk through this particular forest when leaving the floating island, but the others wanted to see him off, naturally. He couldn't be sure when he'd see any of them again. He didn't have any idea how long he'd be gone himself. "As long as it takes," he'd always answer that question to himself. He had wandered into the middle of the forest when a young, familiar voice brought him back to reality.

"Mighty! Hey, Mighty, over here!"

The armadillo tilted his head up to see his best friend, Ray the flying squirrel, dressed in his usual denim jacket, jeans, and tennis shoes.

"Hey, buddy!" Mighty called up to the excited yellow squirrel gliding above his head. "Morning to ya'!"

The squirrel did a loop and tackled his chest in a full-on bear hug. The young squirrel clung to him and buried his head in the armadillo's chest.

Mighty smiled softly at his friend and held him close. He knew his departure would be hardest for the little guy. Ever since they met years ago Mighty had been like an older brother to his incredibly kind but timid charge. In truth, an ulterior motive for his trip was so Ray would stop being so dependent on him and learn to stand on his own two feet. Not that Mighty minded this behavior personally, as he cared for the little squirrel very dearly and never wanted anything to happen to him. But, he also knew that Ray would never tap his full potential if Mighty was holding his hand all the way through. Lost in his thoughts again, he didn't notice the ocean-blue eyes gazing up at him.

"Are you really gonna find my parents, Mighty?"

Mighty's expression softened again as he looked into the face of his hopeful best friend. "I'll do my best, Ray." He ruffled the fur on the squirrel's head. "That, I promise you."

"Thanks, Mighty," he squeezed the armadillo again. "For everything." His voice cracked a little.

That was all the squirrel said for awhile, but Mighty extracted every ounce of meaning that was poured into those four simple words and that last hug. This was Ray saying goodbye to his guardian, mentor, and best friend.

When Ray began sobbing into his chest, Mighty nearly got choked up himself. He had always taken the little guy on his adventures before, and a part of him desperately wanted to now. But, this was a journey he must undertake alone. The armadillo leaned down to his level and embraced him. Mighty could feel his shirt was slightly wet with tears. "Don't worry," he said soothingly, "I'll be back. Until then do your best and become strong for me, ok?"

The squirrel gave a teary nod up at him.

"I'll look forward to seeing how much you've grown when I get back."

"And I'll be the best freedom fighter ever!" he replied, beginning to cheer up. "That, I promise you," he said in a deep voice.

Mighty chuckled. The little guy was mocking him. "Alright, tough guy." He let go of Ray and playfully punched his shoulder. "I'm counting on it!"

"You got it!" Ray wiped his face and gave a salute.

"Hey, we'd better get moving. The others are probably wondering what's taking us so long."

"Oh, yeah! C'mon, this way!" The squirrel trotted off and beckoned to Mighty to follow.

He sighed heavily to himself. He was just so fond of that kid. It was hard letting him go, but it had to be done. It'd be better this way. He started walking at a quick pace to catch up with Ray. No more words were needed, and they just walked side-by-side through the forest, simply enjoying each other's company while they still could. The sun was up enough to shine through the trees now, and the dew on every leaf and fern glimmered like gemstones in the soft, golden light. And so they walked, for what felt to them like an hour, but had arrived at the edge of the forest before long.

"There you are!" a high-pitched voice rang out through the trees.

"Hey Charmy!" Ray called out to the bee flying overhead. "Hi Saffron!"

"Hello, Ray, Mighty," she said to them in turn softly.

"Knuckles was starting to worry," Charmy continued in a sing-songy voice, "so he sent us after you!"

"Sorry we took so long," Mighty said to the bees. "Are the others all at the clearing?"

Saffron nodded.

"Yep!" Charmy said, beginning to fly in circles, "They're aaaall there waiting!"

"Come on, dear," Saffron said to Charmy, "Let's go tell everyone they're on their way."

"OK!" They began to fly off back the way they came.

"Hey, wait up!" Ray took off at a run, kicked off the ground, waved to Mighty, and followed them in the air through the trees.

Even now, Mighty thought, Knuckles was still on guard and looking out for everyone. The Master Emerald, which he'd sworn to protect, hadn't been threatened in a long time, and the Freedom Fighters had taken out Robotnik for good down below. Mighty admired the echidna's determination and sense of duty. Most were still celebrating the tyrant's downfall and their newfound freedom, a month after that final push into the heart of his empire. But not Knuckles, and certainly not Sonic. Last he heard, the poor blue hedgehog was still down there fighting, carrying out various sting operations by himself on all of Robotnik's remaining facilities, one by one, day in, and day out. The smile disappeared from Mighty's face and he began to walk slower as he thought about his unfortunate friend. Mighty couldn't recall feeling more sorry for someone in his life than he did for Sonic. There was only one friendly casualty in that last battle. Mighty could still remember these events as though they happened yesterday. He could even remember the distinct ringing in his ears and tingling in his shell as laser fire whizzed by him and Espio while they were pinned in that accursed corridor…

"Get back!" he yelled to the others while crouching behind Mighty's shell. "We're pinned down here! Keep going!" he called to Ray and Charmy who were trying to dodge a few Dark Legionnaires to get to them.

"Nope! Nuh-uh!" Charmy shouted while swooping down on one firing at Espio. "No way!" He kicked the hooded gunman in the back of the head, and he fell.

"Take this!" Ray flew low toward another, clenched his fists together, and sent a legionnaire sprawling from behind with his up-swing.

"We're being flanked!" one of the five remaining cloaked echidnas called to his fellows. Three of them turned, and opened fire on the young fliers instead. This was just the distraction they needed.

"Mighty!" Espio was glaring at the two enemies still facing them and had extended his left arm toward the armadillo.

He understood, and uncurled his body from the protective ball. "Brace yourself!" He grabbed the chameleon's arm with one of his, swung him around once, and shot him with the force of a bullet at the nearest legionnaire. As he let go, he used the momentum of his spin to curl up into a ball again, bolstered by Espio's shout and a thud as another cloaked figure hit the ground in front of him. A second later, he blasted forward at the nearest enemy firing at Ray and Charmy, and nailed him in the back in ball-form. The unfortunate echidna was thrown forward between the other two, past the bee and squirrel, and far enough down the corridor to smack into the wall as it started to curve around. Mighty uncurled and took two quick steps forward as a startled legionnaire turned around.

"What the…" He started.

The back of Mighty's right fist connected solidly with the echidna's face, and he was sent sideways and headlong into the wall of the corridor. A swift glance left told the armadillo that Espio had sprung off the legionnaire he tackled at another, preparing a powerful mid-air kick. The last enemy left standing looked at Mighty, and began firing madly at him.

"Get back!" he shouted madly, "Stay away from me, _you freak_!"

Mighty clenched his teeth and rushed him, ducking his random fire.

"aaaaaaAAAAHHH!" The legionnaire shouted as the armadillo closed the distance to striking range.

The knuckles in Mighty's left fist cracked menacingly as he clenched it and drew it back.

The echidna just stared at him, frozen in terror.

Espio had finished with his second opponent, and turned to see what was going on when he heard the shriek. He saw his comrade, eyes squinting, fist back. "Mighty! Easy!"

The armadillo barely heard his friend as his fist plunged into the gut of the legionnaire, sending him upward with such force that he slammed into the metallic ceiling, denting it, and remaining up there, motionless.

Espio began walking over to him, and called to the others, who were staring at him. "Charmy! Ray! Catch up to the others! Tell them we'll catch up in a couple minutes."

"Aye-aye!" Charmy said as he turned about and flew down the corridor.

Ray glance back at them, and at a nod from Mighty he kicked off and flew after the bee.

Espio placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Mighty's heavy breathing subsided after a moment. "Yeah, I'm fine." He dropped his hands down to his side. "It's just… After so long…" He looked up at the echidna wedged in the ceiling. "That word still…"

"You have a gift, Mighty," Espio interrupted.

He turned to look the chameleon in the face.

"An individual's character and actions determine their worth, not opinions."

"I know. I really need to do something about that, though. I thought I had gotten over everything that happened before, but that…" he pointed upward, "…tells me otherwise."

"Listen. I have an idea that might help you. After we take of Robotnik, come see me. Until then, keep your head high and don't worry about it." He extended a fist toward Mighty. "Alright?"

Mighty smiled and knocked his teammate's fist with his own. "You got it…"

"Oh, there you are!" a gruff, clear voice brought Mighty back to reality. He had unconsciously pulled out his staff and continued walking until he was clear of the forest altogether.

Knuckles the Echidna, clad in dark brown shorts and matching vest, looked down at the bo clenched in Mighty's hands. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much." He gave the staff a whirl and placed it back into his pack. "Just thinking."

"Thinking, huh?" He sized up the armadillo. "You know, you've had your head in the clouds a lot more often than normal lately. And then you go and tell us you're leaving. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's cool." He looked into Knuckles's fiery purple eyes and could tell his friend wasn't buying it.

As if in response to Mighty's thought, he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Really, I just need some time to figure some things out, that's all." He started walking further into the clearing. He could see the outline of the rest of the Chaotix in the distance.

"Yeah, I can relate to that." Knuckles folded his hands behind his head and walked alongside Mighty. "I'd like to do some soul-searching myself, given the chance. You should take it easy, though. Relax."

Mighty smirked at him. "You should talk. Never thought I'd hear _you_ telling someone else to relax, Knux."

He chuckled. "You have a point. But you forget, it's _my_ _job _to worry, not yours."

"Hey it's our job almost much as yours, you know. Why do you think we formed the Chaotix in the first place?"

"True. But you guys can walk away from it anytime you want to." The bright red echidna closed his eyes and sighed. "Not me, though."

"Sounds like somebody could use a vacation."

"You know I can't do that. Not while there's still so many villains around, at least. Maybe someday, though. Who knows? With Robotnik finally gone, there's no telling what could happen next."

"I guess. Here come the others."

Julie-Su the Echidna, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Ray the Squirrel, and Charmy & Saffron Bee were all walking toward them now.

"Hey, man!" Vector called out, waving. "What the heck kept'ya? Charmy n' the others said you'd be back ages ago!" Vector was a large green crocodile, wearing khaki cargo pants and a plain sleeveless t-shirt. He could be a bit impatient and obnoxious at times, but he was a good fighter and friend.

"I was just thinking," Mighty said as they came together and formed a circle, with the bees hovering overhead.

"You should have seen him, Vec," Knuckles chimed in. "He was so gone, I bet he would've walked smack into a tree if I didn't find him when I did."

"_That's_ your excuse for being late to your own get-together?" Vector said incredulously. "Lame!"

"Aww, give him a break, you guys," Julie-Su piped up. She was Knuckles's girl, a former Dark Legionnaire turned Chaotix, sporting large blue boots, black pants, a black & blue top, along with one cybernetic dreadlock. The Dark Legion consisted of cyborg echidnas who loved technology to a fault, and were recently allied with Dr. Robotnik. Since his downfall, no one has heard anything from them. "…thinking about his trip. Mighty?"

"See, what did I tell you?" Knuckles said again. "He's obviously not quite with us."

"Are you feeling alright?" Espio asked. The purple chameleon was a well-trained ninja, donning his black gi and large gloves & boots which stored an unknown number of various pointy and dangerous objects.

Mighty shook his head. "Yeah, sorry guys. I've just had a lot to think about recently."

"Ah, don't sweat it!" Vector placed an arm around the armadillo's shoulders. "That's probably why your leavin', huh? Clear your head for a bit?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"Mostly?" Knuckles repeated.

"Well, now that Robotnik's out of the way, I'd kind of like to see more of Mobius. Being just under Knuckles on his 'Robotnik's Most Wanted' list made that pretty difficult before."

"What?" Vector chimed in. "I coulda' sworn I had that spot!"

"Sorry, Vector," Julie-Su chided, "But being able to pull up trees and swing them around with one hand means he was more threatening!"

The croc looked away and snorted in response.

They all laughed.

"In any case," Mighty continued while walking to the edge of the group, "there's just some personal stuff I want to care of. That's all."

Ray shuffled his feet in the dirt.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your trip," the pink echidna said bracingly. "Maybe after you get back I can convince a certain red someone to take a break of their own!" She turned and poked Knuckles in the chest.

"Watch it!" he retorted. "You take care of yourself down there, Mighty." The two of them bumped fists.

"Catch ya later, man!" Vector said with a wave.

"Bye-bye Mighty!" Charmy called from above while Saffron curtseyed.

"Best of luck to you, friend," Espio said and bowed.

"G'bye, Mighty," Ray said while stepping up to him. "See you soon!"

"Bye everyone!" He gave a general wave in their direction. "Bye Ray." He ruffled the fur on the squirrel's head. "Listen," he said, leaning toward him. "I left you something in the bush behind your tree yesterday. Go take a look later, ok?"

"S-sure… Thanks again, Mighty." The squirrel made to hug him again, but stopped when Mighty got up.

"You're welcome, little guy." Mighty turned away from him, and walked to the very edge of the island. He looked over the side, and found his desired landing-point, a particular tall cliff below. He turned back to look at them all one last time, burning the image of their faces into his memory.

They all waved to him.

Smiling his biggest smile, Mighty gave them the thumbs up, turned back around, and hopped neatly off the island, aiming for the cliff-face down below.


	2. Chapter II: Epoch

**The Pariah Chronicles**

Chapter II: Epoch

Mighty spread his limbs out to slow his descent, and scanned the rocks below for a suitable touch-down point. He focused his vision on the highest flat portion of rock near the top, then steered himself toward it. He oriented himself in the air so that his arms were spread sideways and his body was now vertical, with one leg extended toward the ground. He closed his eyes on approach. The rock below cracked with the sound of a gunshot on impact, as his left foot, right fist, and knee collided with the cliff. He opened his eyes, stood up, and brushed the dust and debris off his clothes before he stepped out of the small crater.

He looked behind him at the cliff-side he had disturbed. There was an indentation in the ground, surrounded by chunks of rock jutting from the outside, with numerous jagged cracks spreading outward, dotted with smaller pebbles and stones. The armadillo stared for a moment, then his eyes sank and he put his hands in his pockets as he turned and began to descend the cliff. He hated destruction. There wasn't a significant amount of damage to the rock formation, but the idea that he could use his strength to cause such destruction so easily and without the slightest thought troubled him. Mighty continued walking and gazed down at his white-gloved hands. These hands had torn apart innumerable robots in the war against the Eggman, cracked many a Dark Legion head, and had even leveled entire laboratories and demolished prison camps. He was astonished at what he could accomplish with his amazing strength. Often, in the heat of battle, he felt as though he could do anything. But then, that was what worried him the most. Just what would it take, he wondered, for him to use his abilities to serve the other end? To attack rather than protect, to destroy rather than build, to hurt rather than comfort?

At his next step, a chunk of rock broke beneath his foot, and tumbled down the cliff-side as he slid downward a little himself. The cliff was getting steeper, and he would probably have to start climbing down soon. He sat down on the ground and folded his arms. Maybe Knuckles was right. He was spending way too much time wrapped up in his own thoughts. The main point of this trip was to get some things straightened out for himself, but he shouldn't let that fact stop his journey from being enjoyable. He looked up into the sky. There were scant clouds drifting lazily about, and the sun was far from directly above. He had better pick up the pace if he wanted to cover some ground before nightfall. Mighty looked down at the rest of the cliff, and saw that he still had a ways to go before he would get to the tree-line below. Perhaps he would be best served to try the Sonic-like approach on this one. The armadillo smiled to himself, stood up, and walked a few paces back into the cliff. He turned back around, located the steepest drop-off point of the cliff, and readied himself. His trip was already off to a bad start, what with him brooding and doubting himself so much. It was time to really set things in motion.

He stared intently at a point a couple feet before the edge of the cliff and whispered to himself, "Seize the day, Mighty." And with that, the armadillo ran at full speed toward the edge. When his foot reached the point he had marked, he kicked off and leapt mightily into the air, arms and scarf trailing behind him, and soared a good 30 feet at 45 degrees before starting to fall back toward the ground. He angled himself sideways to the mountain as he fell, and moved his limbs into position. When he met the rock again, one leg was extended downward, the other bent close to him, with a hand extended above him. With his feet turned sideways and a hand firmly trailing behind in the rock above him, Mighty proceeded to slide down the cliff-side at a great speed. The adrenaline rush was incredible! Normally he wouldn't try something like this unless he was in a critical situation of some sort, so he never paid attention to just what this kind of thing felt like. Now he could easily see why his hedgehog friend enjoyed showboating so much.

Mighty held all his limbs firm as he flew down the cliff-side, swerving this way and that as the rock curved. At this rate he'd reach the bottom pretty quickly. As he had this thought, he missed a bulge in the rock directly in his path. He was moving too quickly to avoid it, and slid right over it, ramping right off the cliff and going airborne. In surprise, he turned around to face the cliff, and dug his hands into it as they met again. He was sliding backward down the rocky slope, holding his arms steady as best he could and trying to regain control. Mighty then decided to use his legs and kick himself off, giving him just enough hang-time to turn back around forward and extend a foot toward the cliff. When he connected, he was moving at such speed that his leg was immediately thrown back, and he lost what little balance he had. He was barely able to get his other leg in front of him quick enough to avoid tumbling headfirst into the stone below. He whipped his left arm around and yanked the staff from his pack as his leg shot back after contacting the cliff. He quickly grasped the bo at an end with both hands, raised it high, and used his incredible strength to pierce the other end into the rock below him. It penetrated almost halfway and stuck, allowing Mighty to flip around it as he fell and hang onto it. The staff bet a little at first with his momentum, but Mighty held on tight, and it came to a rest with him dangling from it.

Mighty's ears were ringing. He took a few deep breaths to slow his heart-rate, then looked below him. The cliff's downward angle was becoming less sharp, and he was pretty close to the tops of some trees. He looked up, and could just barely make out the little jut in the mountainside that caused him so much trouble, which was far above him now. That was certainly _one_ way to get to the bottom, he thought. Normally he'd just curl up and roll in a situation like that, but then all of the stuff in his pack would be ruined. Now that he thought about it though, rolling the rest of the way down didn't sound like a bad idea. He swung over to the cliff so one foot was resting on it sideways, let go off the staff with one arm, took off his pack, and held it close to his chest. He then used his leg to kick off of the mountain, while pulling his staff out of the rock with his other hand. Mighty immediately curled up into a ball, holding the staff long-ways so it trailed on the sides of him, bounced twice off the rock, and proceeded to roll the rest of the way down the mountain-side safely, and not quite as fast as before.

A few minutes of rolling later, Mighty slowed his pace a bit and began dodging around the trunks of trees. The ground was nearly level now, and he could feel it softening as he went from rock to dirt. Due to his escapades on the cliff, he had caught up with about how far he had hoped to be by this point. He rolled to a stop by a large maple tree, uncurled, and got up from his knees. He walked closer and sat down against it, laid his staff next to him, and opened up his pack to take inventory. Luckily all of his belongings were mostly unscathed, which to Mighty's great satisfaction included his old, leather-bound, 5x7 photo album. He opened it up and flipped to the very back. On the inside cover was a small pocket, which contained an equally old sepia-tone photo. Mighty withdrew it, and gazed longingly at the beautiful stone interior it depicted, complete with an ornate fireplace & mantle on the left, a wooden shelf on the right cluttered with shining golden treasures, and four shelled figures in the middle, two large and two small. Mighty absent-mindedly fingered the scarf around his neck, a scarf identical to the one worn by a small armadillo in his photo, whose eyes were closed and was hugging the leg of a taller, older, and bearded armadillo. The tall one's hand sat delicately on the child's head, while his other rested on the shoulder of a female armadillo in a rocking chair. She was staring lovingly at the bundle of blankets in her lap, with the small, ribboned head of the fourth armadillo poking out of the end.

This photo and his scarf were the earliest possessions he could remember having. He felt like he should know the ones in the photo, but whenever he tried to recall them, his mind drew a complete blank. Mighty knew the small boy in the picture was him, which meant that somewhere, he had a father, a mother, and a younger sister, but he couldn't remember anything at all about them, not even their names. He himself looked about five or six in the photo, so he expected to remember something every time he looked at it, as he felt he should, but nothing ever came of it. Just like now. Mighty sighed and let his hands fall to his lap, and looked up at the sky through a gap in the trees. The sun was almost beginning to set, and it was nearing a faintly orange tint. He gave the picture one last glance, and tenderly slipped the photo back into the album, and replaced it in his pack. Mighty rested his hands on the back of his head, and lounged on the trunk of the maple. The fact that he found that picture in his possession but could remember nothing of what it depicted puzzled him ever since he first looked at it, up until a few months back. Mighty slid down and lay on the ground, eyes now closed. About three months ago, Sonic had revealed to him that his memory was actually tampered with when he was young, by the being known as Mammoth Mogul.

According to Sonic, Mighty's parents were big-time treasure thieves, but were caught and taken away by the authorities, then locked in a prison on a faraway island. Supposedly a young & distraught Mighty sought out Mogul, and pleaded that he give him the strength to save his parents. This was certainly possible, as the mammoth had been alive for many thousands of years, and granted tremendous & mysterious power as well as being stopped from aging due to the chaos emerald embedded in his chest. Apparently Mighty failed in his rescue attempt, and upon his return to Mogul, he learned that the price of his gift of great strength was one of the most precious possessions of sentient beings. The timeless mammoth had used his potent psychic abilities to erase Mighty's memory, and left him in his village, with abnormal strength, and no memory of why he had it, or of any home, family, or possessions he might have had. Naturally the residents of his village wanted nothing to do with the freakishly powerful, suddenly amnesiac spawn of condemned criminals, and before long they had run him out and into a nearby forest. Mighty shuddered and shook his head. His earliest memories were not pleasant ones.

The armadillo's ear perked up and eyes snapped open as he heard a loud rustling coming from some nearby bushes. He grabbed his staff, jumped to his feet, and placed his bag on his back. "Who's there?" he called uncertainly into the bushes as they began to make popping and whirring sounds. The back of a shining, metallic foot and leg thrust through the bush and hit the ground.

"A 'bot?" Mighty said to himself as the rest of the android came into view. It was missing an arm, and was sparking and crackling all over as jolts of electricity danced about its figure. Mighty readied himself for the bot's first move, but it never came. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mighty heard a high-pitched squealing noise coming from the other side of the bot, who thrust its remaining arm in front of itself in a defensive position. Its last gesture was futile however, as a split-second later something round collided with the android's chest, blowing right through and out the back. The ball soared over Mighty's head in a brilliant flash of blue. Grinning, he relaxed his guard as the spiny ball uncurled into a familiar figure in midair and landed gracefully with his back to the armadillo.

Mighty walked toward him. "Hey there! How you holding up?" Mighty extended a fist toward his guest.

Sonic the Hedgehog, sporting black athletic shorts, a knapsack, white gloves, and his signature bright red shoes, turned around and bumped the armadillo's fist with his own. "Yo, Mighty. I've been better."

Mighty dropped a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that. How's your crusade going?"

"Let's see…" Sonic began to count on his fingers. "Today, I've taken out a few generators, a power station, a refinery, a few dozen 'bots, and wrecked a supply route. The factory near here is next on the list."

Mighty raised his eyebrows. "Wow, you freedom fighters must be pretty exhausted after all that."

"What?" Sonic replied distractedly, "No, all that was just me. I got the whole gang together and we took out a couple of 'bot factories earlier." He began rapidly tapping his foot on the ground. "I wasn't quite done for the day though."

Mighty smiled woefully at his friend, who was now scratching his ear and eyeing the downed robot. "Still at it, huh? Not going to settle down anytime soon?"

Sonic turned his fiery gaze back to him. "Yes. And no, I'm not," he said shortly. After a moment, he added, "Not until he's just a bad memory." He turned his body away from Mighty, his expression hidden in shadow.

The armadillo could practically feel the weight behind those words, and could scarcely imagine what his friend must be going through.

"So," he said without looking at Mighty. "I guess the fact that you're down here means you're finally off on your own quest, huh?"

"Yeah." Mighty put his hands in his pockets. "With the island safe and Robotnik finally gone, I figured now would be the best time to slip out."

"That right? Well, I hope you find what you're looking for out there." Sonic turned back to face him. "Sorry I couldn't get anymore info out of Mogul."

Mighty shook his head. "Don't be." He looked sincerely into Sonic's dull, emerald-green eyes. "If it wasn't for you, I'd have nothing to go on at all except my picture. Now I know what happened, and who should have some answers for me. I don't know how I could ever thank you."

Sonic leaned on Mighty's shoulder and sighed, "No biggie."

He couldn't help but notice that Sonic didn't quite look the same without his formerly ever-present cocky smile.

"I'll just put it on your tab."

"Yeah, that's two I owe you now," Mighty responded.

Sonic gave the armadillo a mildly puzzled look. "Two?"

"Yep, two. Remember how we met?"

"'Course I do." Sonic shook his head and added, "That doesn't count though."

Mighty raised an eyebrow. "How could you rescuing me from a prison camp _not _count?"

Sonic looked away from him again. "Because I botched the job, that's why."

"What?" Mighty could already see where this was going. "No, you were great."

Sonic slid off Mighty's shoulder and looked at the ground. "Aw, don't give me that, Mighty. Because of me, Ray…."

"Don't worry about that," Mighty hastily interrupted with a wave of his hand. "We couldn't have known what was going to happen when Ray grabbed that power gem."

Sonic kicked around in the dirt. "Well, yeah, but if only I could've…"

"Sonic," Mighty said clearly, "that was what, seven years ago? Sure, in reality he missed a couple of years while he was in stasis, but I got him back, didn't I?"

The hedgehog gazed solemnly into Mighty's face.

He thought for a moment, then continued, "Besides, if that's how you feel, you made up for it right afterward by getting both our skins out of there alive in the end."

Sonic opened his mouth to protest.

"It's cool, trust me," Mighty cut him off. "And for the record I never once blamed you for what happened to Ray." This was completely true, as the armadillo had always been too busy blaming himself for losing track of Ray to share any of it with Sonic. "He's been back for awhile now, and he's fine." He added sincerely, "That's all that matters."

Mighty caught the briefest hint of a smile flash across the hedgehog's face as his eyes lit up and he said simply, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Tell you what," he wanted to change the subject, "Why don't we camp out here tonight, and tomorrow morning I can help you trash that factory."

"You sure? Shouldn't you be out playing detective?"

"Sure I'm sure. Besides, this way you won't have to call in the rest of the team, or go by yourself."

Sonic looked skeptical.

"It's no trouble, really. Besides, I bet you could use the company."

Sonic waved his hand. "I appreciate it, but you have your own fish to fry. I couldn't keep you here."

"You're not keeping me. It's been awhile since I saw any action, plus I owe them some payback myself." Mighty smacked a fist into his open palm.

Sonic considered him for a long moment.

Mighty was staring intently right into his face.

He sighed. "Alright." He slowly looked up at the sky, which was now dark with a few scant stars here and there. After a minute, he continued, "We'll camp out here tonight and hit the factory tomorrow morning, together."

"Sweet! Thanks for letting me help you out."

The blue hedgehog again gazed absently into Mighty's face with his listless, dim green eyes for what felt to Mighty like a long time. It felt like his friend was looking right through him. Almost as if he could see something that Mighty couldn't. Suddenly he said in a quiet voice, "I… I appreciate it Mighty. I really do."

The armadillo just smiled benignly in return and pat him on the shoulder. "Come on, hero. Let's set up camp."

Sonic nodded silently and threw his knapsack to Mighty. A second later, he was gone in a flash of blue and rush of wind.

The armadillo walked over to a flat portion of ground devoid of pebbles & sticks and opened it up to pull out Sonic's sleeping bag. As he removed it, he noticed something in the back of the bag that made his heart skip a beat and caused him to drop the pack.

Sonic then blew right past him, lingering only long enough to drop off a large pile of sticks and stones for a fire before he was off again in another direction.

Mighty turned around and tried to busy himself with the sleeping bag, but he just couldn't get the image of that scrap of baby-blue cloth in the back of Sonic's bag out of his mind. He vacantly arranged the kindling and stones on the ground before him into a fire-pit, then got up and prepared his hammock between two nearby trees. Mighty didn't think there were words deep enough to describe the intense sorrow he felt for his friend, and definitely not for what Sonic must be feeling himself.

He had just finished with the hammock as Sonic skidded back into the campsite with a couple of fresh trout, which he tossed to Mighty without saying anything. The hedgehog then started a fire in their ring by rubbing some sticks together at supersonic speed.

Meanwhile the armadillo had carefully stuck gloved hands inside the mouths of the fish, and cleanly pulled out their skeletons with a smooth yank. By the time he had them skewered on a couple relatively clean sticks, Sonic had a nice little blaze going and had set up some stands to roast the fish over the flame.

The rhythmic crackling and popping of the campfire echoed throughout the silent forest as Mobius's twin moons reflected a ghostly light on the scene below.

While Mighty cooked the fish, Sonic grabbed his bag and hopped up into the nearest tree, a gnarled old oak. The armadillo looked up at the disturbance, only to see the Hero of Mobius nestled in the highest branches cradling his knapsack, and staring at the two heavenly bodies. Sonic the Hedgehog glowed a pale white in the crossing rays of moonlight; a single tear formed in the corner of his eye, sparkling like a diamond against the black sky.

Mighty then decided to return his attention to their dinner. The armadillo took one nicely cooked fish and tossed it up to Sonic, who deftly caught it without averting his eyes in the slightest. He hadn't seen the hedgehog close-up since that fateful day a moth ago. So much had happened at once. The direction of history had about-faced. The lives of everyone on the planet were changed forever. With the death of another hero a large part of his friend had died that day as well, and now Mighty could tell it was never coming back.

After his meal, he climbed into his hammock and closed his eyes. He would need his strength for the coming morning. The heavy-hearted armadillo was eventually lulled into an uneasy sleep by the crackling of the fire on the ground and the rustling of the treetops in the wind.


	3. Chapter III: Night Terrors

**The Pariah Chronicles**

Chapter III: Night Terrors

The clanging of their shoes on the steel flooring echoed throughout the metallic corridor as Mighty and Espio ran through the hall to meet up with the rest of the Chaotix. This was all that he could hear, so he guessed that the rest of the corridor had been cleared of resistance while he and the chameleon had their conversation. When the two rounded the last bend, they spotted and ran up to Knuckles who was guarding the group's rear.

"_There _you guys are!" He relaxed his stance. "We've already finished up with these guys. What took you?"

"We… ah…" Mighty began, but Espio cut him off.

"I wanted to double back and make sure no reinforcements followed us in. There's nothing to worry about"

Knuckles looked sideways at Espio. "Yeah?" His eyes flicked toward Mighty. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, we're cool," he responded. "Just a little nervous, I guess. I mean, this is _it_. You know?

"I do." The echidna seemed to buy it. "And you're right, this one's for all the marbles. Now come on, we need you two for the next part." He turned, and they jogged deeper back into the corridor. In a matter of seconds the rest of the Chaotix came into view, as well as the Freedom Fighters, and they were all standing in front of a huge, metal double-door. "West hall still secure, Sally," Knuckles said to a female squirrel in front of the freedom fighters.

Suddenly Sonic came zipping around from behind them, and skidded to a stop between the two groups. "East's hall's still clear, Sal'!" His radiant, lime-colored eyes swept over Mighty & Espio. "'Bout time you guys showed up!" He flashed a gleaming smile. "Finally, it's time to stick it to the doc' once and for all!" He punched his open palm.

At this, Princess Sally Acorn, leader of the Freedom Fighters and this operation, turned to the hedgehog and responded, "Hold your horses, mister. We still have no idea what's behind this door."

Sonic crossed his arms and began tapping his foot rapidly on the floor. "Oh, come on, Sal'! It's obvious this is a trap, but this is the only way to go." He walked closer and looked over her shoulder at the hand-held computer she was staring into. "See?" He flashed another cocky grin while pointing at the screen.

Knuckles rolled his eyes at the hedgehog while Sally pushed him back with her finger and said into the computer, "Still nothing at all on the scans, Nicole?"

"Affirmative, Sally," the computer responded. Nicole was the name of the highly advanced sentient A.I. that dwelled in Sally's handheld. She was indispensable to nearly all of their efforts, including powering and regulating the city of New Mobotropolis, home and base of operations for all free Mobians on this continent. "X-ray, infrared, thermal, radar, and electromagnetic scans all still too distorted due to heavy interference coming from this next room."

"So in other words," Knuckles spoke up, "We're flying blind from here on out."

Sonic interjected, "C'mon, just let me go in and start the show already!"

Sally forcefully closed her computer. "No, Sonic!" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You're not invincible! I don't want you getting hurt. Not now. Not when we're so close."

"Well, what're we gonna do then? Wait for the Dark Legion to regroup and force us into a retreat?"

"No." Sally bit her lip and twisted a finger through her hair. "Espio, if we open the door for a few seconds, do you think you could slip in and out to give us an idea what we're dealing with?"

"Of course," he responded, "a few seconds is more than enough."

"Smart move." Knuckles nodded his approval. Espio's ninja training along with his natural chameleon camouflage made him perfect for this type of job.

"And if things get rough," Sonic added, "I'll get ya' outta there nice and quick-like." He gave the chameleon the thumbs up.

"I'll go in, too," Mighty added. "In case you need some muscle to bust out."

Espio nodded as Sally walked over to the small keypad beside the door. She plugged Nicole into it and began to hack the electronic lock. "5 seconds," she said to him. "If you're not back here by then, Sonic and Mighty go in to get you and I shut the door. Got it?"

"Understood." He was standing inches from the door with his eyes focused intently, now holding his favorite golden shuriken.

"Oh, my!" Nicole's electronic voice sounded from the princess's hands. "Sally, a small part of the distortion has disappeared from the next room!"

"What?" she responded as all heads eagerly turned toward her. "Anything useful?"

"There appears to be a short path branching from the side of the large room in front of us."

"Can you tell where it leads?"

"Not completely, but it appears that the path leads to an upper floor that houses a small room containing what looks like a control panel of sorts."

"Hey!" Sonic perked up again. "I'll bet we can use that to fry whatever might be in that big room!"

"Or Eggman's luring us into a trap," Knuckles cut in.

"Oh! The exterior path has vanished again," Nicole suddenly hummed in surprise. "I can't pick it up any longer."

Sally shook her head. "I don't like this, either. It's way too obvious for it not to be a trap," she said, mostly to herself. "However," she addressed the two teams, "it does provide us with more tactical options in case whatever's waiting for us in there is a tough nut to crack. I'll save it for a last resort."

"If whatever's lurking in there has a butt," Sonic flashed his crazy smile again. "We'll kick it. No worries, Sal'."

She sighed, followed by a beep from Nicole. "Espio, the door is unlocked," the squirrel said. "Are you prepared?"

The chameleon was staring at the door again, holding his weapon. A short "Yes," was his only response.

Sally glanced toward Sonic and Mighty.

The armadillo cracked his knuckles. "Rescue team ready and standing by, Sally."

"Oh, yeah! Showtime!" The hedgehog's quills were practically quivering with anticipation.

"Knuckles…"

"You don't need my approval, Princess," Knuckles reassured her. "The Chaotix are my team, but this is your show. It goes without saying, but we trust you. And today, we take orders from you."

Sally smiled for the first time since they had entered the Eggdome before she returned her attention to Nicole. "On my mark, then," she told Espio.

He crouched into a ready position, inches from the door.

The others fell back from the entryway.

"Ready…"

Espio vanished from plain sight as he blended in with his surroundings.

"Set…"

Sonic and Mighty stood by either side of the door, waiting.

"GO!" The large double doors slid into the walls with an electronic hum, and a faint, whistling wind brushed everyone's ears as Espio sprinted into the room.

Mighty could feel his heart racing as time crept agonizingly slowly by. 1 second. 2 seconds. 3 sec…

The silence of the corridor was violently shredded by an ear-piercing howl of pain, echoing monstrously throughout the entire complex.

The blue hedgehog flashed through the door before the accompanying sonic boom even reached the others' ears, with Mighty hot on his heels.

He was instantly met with a horrifying sight. There wasn't something simply waiting for them in this area, but rather the entire room itself was trying to end their short lives. All throughout the rounded deathtrap various metal appendages with dangerous weapons on the ends poked through the floor, walls, and ceiling, culminating in a gargantuan metallic pillar in the center reaching from floor to ceiling. It was made of several segments that spun and darted quickly and freely around a base, each one sprouting its own unique arm with its own deadly purpose. Espio was being crushed by one such extension that ended in a giant clamp.

"HOLEE-" Sonic began, but was cut short and leapt away as a flamethrower suddenly rose from the ground and tried to roast him.

Mighty spun on the spot and shouted frantically out the door they came in, "We're gonna need some help!"

Knuckles ran into the room himself, but was briefly stunned by the utter chaos before him. "Sweet mother of…" He snapped out of it. "Chaotix! Charge!"

"Freedom Fighters, move out!" the princess shouted after him, her own task force now joining in the mayhem.

Mighty turned again just in time to see a chain gun emerge from a near wall. On instinct, he curled into a ball just as the barrel started turning, then blasted off, deflecting numerous bullets with his armored shell before smashing the gun to pieces. To his dismay the broken apparatus retreated into the wall only to be replaced a second later by a chainsaw. A _flaming_, chainsaw. Eyes wide as dinner plates, "WHOA!" he yelled while frantically jumping back, the spinning chain barely missing his stomach but still managing to singe through a bit of his shirt. The impromptu evasive maneuver had gotten him out of range of the saw, but now he was close enough to be attacked directly by the instrument of death in the center of the room.

"Wah!" a high-pitched cry sounded above the armadillo's ears. "It's got me! HELP!" He looked up to see Charmy stuck to the ceiling, caught in some sort of magnetic net with a nasty-looking drill sticking out of the ceiling poised to bore right through him.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" a booming voice rang out behind the armadillo. He turned to see Knuckles charging in his direction, eyes up on Charmy.

"Knux!" Mighty called to him, crouching down and lowering his hands to the floor, directly under Charmy.

The echidna's sharp eyes snapped onto the armadillo and he instantly understood, vaulting a spike trap that popped out of the floor before leaping at Mighty and landing with one foot on the armadillo's hands.

He flung his arms upward, sending Knuckles careening toward the ceiling where he promptly shredded the net imprisoning Charmy, getting a safe bee-flight back to the ground in return.

Though Charmy had just been rescued, two others were captured and incapacitated just as quickly. Needless to say, they couldn't keep this up forever. Even Sonic was beginning to sweat, for Mighty hadn't seen him doing anything but darting about the entire room from one victim to the next, literally pulling their fur out of harm's way seconds before it was too late. Not a single one of them had managed a successful offensive strike against the structure in the middle of the room, and Mighty figured he'd better try it before things got any worse. The armadillo charged right toward the demonic pillar, leaping a trapdoor and swatting away a swarm of tiny flying sentries along the way. He was but a single jump away from making a direct attack when a section of the pillar spun, revealing a thick metal arm with a massive mallet attached to the end.

"Oh…" Mighty whispered as he skidded to a stop and gazed upward at the gigantic hammer, now raised high and casting its huge shadow over him. A second later it came down on him, five tons of downward force aiming to crack his shell like an egg and flatten him into a pancake. The armadillo closed his eyes, thrust his open hands upward, and gritted his teeth, steeling himself for the inevitable blow that just might do him in. Instead something rammed into his side at about 800 miles per hour, knocking all the wind out of his lungs but saving him the trouble of dealing with that hammer. A split-second later the hammer collided with the metallic floor, creating a shockwave the nearly knocked everyone off their feet. Finally Sonic set him down, far out of reach of the central tower.

"Thanks…" Mighty panted, trying to regain his breath.

"Noprob' gottago," the hedgehog hero slurred together, worried emerald eyes roving about the room just as fast as he could, probably in search of more friends in need of immediate rescue. Then he took off… or at least he attempted to, but didn't get anywhere. "What the?" he asked himself, looking down at his feet.

Glancing over, Mighty could see that some odd, sticky substance had gushed up from the floor underneath Sonic's feet. He had stayed still just long enough for the goo to root his feet to the floor, and he couldn't pull his legs free. Behind the blue hero a panel opened up in the wall, and the barrel of a futuristic-looking gun pointed its muzzle at the pair of them, making a whirring sound as it began to glow red. Mighty jumped to his feet and stood behind Sonic with his armored back to the gun, and tried to unstuck his friend. With his strength the armadillo was able to pull him out easy enough, but not fast enough to avoid the charged laser beam that struck him hard in the back. The armadillo was blasted forward off his feet and dropped Sonic, who quickly curled up and spun through the air at insane speeds to alter his landing point away from the sticky mess and cut the laser gun in two at the same time. Mighty's own landing wasn't as graceful, as his face met the cold steel on the floor. There was a nasty burn mark on the back of his shell, but he was otherwise alright.

Unfortunately that couldn't be said for the rest of his friends at the moment. During the few seconds of Sonic's distraction, Mighty could see that about half of their allies were either captured or otherwise unable to continue fighting their seemingly indomitable foe. The situation was getting desperate, as they hadn't managed to put so much as a scratch on the monstrous pillar as far as Mighty could tell. They were all fighting their hardest, but for every advance, someone would get hurt or caught. But, he noticed at least one of their number was unaccounted for as he scanned the room.

"Hey!" Sonic said while grabbing the next person to go by's shoulder which happened to be Espio, who had thankfully been rescued at some point during the fight. "Where's Sal'?" he shouted to him over the noise of combat.

"I just saw her heading for that passage to the upper floor," the chameleon responded. "Whatever else may be up there, we need it." With that, he ran off to help Vector and Julie-Su with their buzz-saw problem.

In a flash the hedgehog headed toward where the other opening should be, but there was only a thick, heavy, closed metal door in the way.

All of a sudden, a deep and guttural laugh filled the entire battleground: "Ohhhhh, ho ho ho ho!" Doctor Eggman's mocking voice issued from a hundred speakers that had come out of the ceiling. "Having fun with my Spider Spire, Freedom Fighters?"

"Eggman! Get your fat butt out here and fight me like a man, already!" Sonic yelled angrily back at the ceiling while dodging an acid trap at the same time.

"Why the hurry, hedgehog? The fun is only just beginning! Should you make it past my marvelous creation, I'll be waiting for you up ahead. Although, I don't imagine you'll be very pleased to see me if you do."

"Ha!" Sonic taunted back at the ceiling, "I'm always pleased to kick your sorry can around, Eggy. Bring it on!"

"Wah ha ha ha! Wait and see, rodent. Wait and see." With a click, the system turned off and the speakers fell silent. At the same time, Mighty could see one of the wall panels splitting in two and sliding apart, revealing a glass pane. Behind it stood the princess, her hands flying furiously over a control panel in the tiny room.

Sonic's quills visibly drooped. "No… Oh no!"

Mighty turned to Sonic to ask what was going on, but he was gone. The armadillo blinked, and the next thing he knew Sonic was plastered to the other side of the glass, banging his hands on it and yelling at the princess. "Sal', it's a trap! Sally!" Strangely, it looked like she could hear him, but was pointedly ignoring him as she frantically worked the controls.

Mighty was so absorbed in what was going on up there that he failed to notice his shoes being frozen to the floor by a couple of chemical dispensers that crept out of the paneling.

Sonic must have been getting frustrated, because he had resorted to punching at the glass pane and yelling at the top of his lungs. "SAALLLYYY!"

The Princess of Acorn jumped in shock, then flipped a switch before returning to playing with the controls. "Sonic, I know it's a trap," her distressed voice issued from another speaker that had come out of the wall near the window. "That monstrosity can only be de-activated from here." Suddenly she stopped moving, stealing a quick glance at Sonic's face as her finger hovered over a large, previously untouched button.

Sonic's eyes immediately locked onto it and he resumed his incessant pounding. "Sal'… Don't you touch that button, Sally Acorn!"

"Sonic, stop it!" Now she was shouting too. "Look behind you, this is the only way and you know it!"

The hedgehog kept his eyes glued to the princess but Mighty looked around. The situation was even grimmer than before. There was only one Freedom Fighter left in the battle, a young flyer. As for the Chaotix, only Knuckles and Ray were in any shape to avoid capture and continue fighting. Mighty decided to run up and help them, but he finally noticed his feet were firmly rooted to the spot. Try as he might, he just couldn't pull free of the ice that surrounded him. Meanwhile Sonic and Sally were still arguing amongst themselves within his earshot, despite the severity of the situation.

"No!" the blue one yelled while emphatically shaking his head. "We'll get through this! Together! Like always!"

The princess's hand quivered for a moment as she looked at him again, but then she lowered her face back down to the controls so Sonic couldn't see it. "Sonic, listen to me," she said, in a completely different and subdued tone compared to before. "Get down from there, now. After I press this, the Spire will shut down and the last door will open. This room.." she stopped short and almost looked at Sonic's face again, but jerked her head back down before continuing. "This room is going to self-destruct, so you-"

"WHAT?" Sonic shouted, re-doubling his efforts to break through the pane.

Mighty struggled against his bonds. This was getting way out of hand! He had to do something!

"Get down, Sonic," Sally said, still refusing to look at the hedgehog.

"Not gonna happen!" he responded, getting more frantic by the second.

"Mighty, help me!" a new, fear-cracked voice resounded in the armadillo's ears. His head whipped around to see Ray stuck in the same goo that had trapped Sonic earlier.

"Hang on, kid! I gotcha!" Knuckles desperately yelled from the other end of the room, trying to fight his way to the stuck squirrel.

Mighty furiously punched and smashed at the ice surrounding his feet, but to small avail. The stuff just wouldn't break!

"Last warning, Sonic." She placed her palm on the button, but didn't press it.

"Sally, no!" Sonic's voice cracked. "Please, don't do it!"

With one last frenzied jerk, Mighty had managed to free a leg, and frantically began work on the other. He had to get out of this! He had to do something!

Knuckles had almost reached Ray when a floor panel opened up directly in front of him and an over-sized boxing glove sprang up from the hole, catching him in the chin so hard that he was blasted upward into the flying Freedom Fighter and then into the ceiling, sending the two of them back to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"Goodbye…Sonic," the princess muttered.

"NO!" Sonic raved, his knuckles starting leaving bloody marks on the un-scathed window pane from his frenzied strikes. He looked around in a last bit of desperation and spotted the armadillo, the only one on the battlefield still standing. "Mighty!" he called, "I need you!"

"I'm coming!" the panicked armadillo shouted to either Sonic, or Ray, or both, he wasn't sure which. Things were happening way too fast! He gathered up his strength and pounded his freed foot into the floor, denting it a considerable amount and creating a foothold for him to push against. With a deafening crack he finally managed to pull his other leg free of the icy compound.

At that moment a sound tore through the air that drowned out all the others in the armadillo's ears. Ray was screaming in utter terror, enveloped by the shadow of a massive hammer. "MIGHTY!" He cried, closing his eyes and covering his head with his hands.

Mighty was at his breaking point. "I'm sorry Sonic!" he yelled to the hedgehog before making a beeline for Ray. He was scorched, cut, and pummeled by all manner of things on the way, but his strength was peaking and not one of the fiendish traps could stop him now. Mighty screamed in desperation and anger, leaping into the air above Ray and right at the side of the falling hammer, driving his fist into it with such force that the thick mechanical arm that held it up snapped like a twig, the solid metal head dented deeply at the impact zone and the five ton mallet flew clear across the chamber before embedding itself in the opposite wall.

The armadillo landed and ripped Ray from the sticky goo, almost accidentally pulling his arm out of socket in the process. He whipped his head back around to Sonic, but it was too late. The scream of another tortured soul filled the air as Sally finally lifted her head and looked at Sonic's face one last time before silently pressing down on the button.

"NOOO-" Sonic started to yell, but the room exploded violently, blowing out the glass and sending the hedgehog sailing backward among the deadly shards and fire. The monstrous Spider Spire ceased functioning while crooked laughter issued from the ceiling. Princess Sally and Nicole were entirely consumed by flames, save one small, singed scrap of baby-blue fabric that landed on the broken hero's chest moments later.


	4. Chapter IV: Fiends Revisited

_No, I'm not dead and neither is this story. Still plotting, still writing. Just not in order. Stay tuned._

* * *

**The Pariah Chronicles**

Chapter IV: Fiends Revisited

"You awake?"

Mighty awoke with a start and snapped upright in his hammock. He quickly looked around in confusion, but the sight of trees in the gentle dawn light and sound of birds on the breeze calmed him down as he remembered where he was. It was just the same old memory, and the same old nightmare. Mighty doubted it would ever stop haunting his mind.

"Morning," came the same misty voice from somewhere above his head.

"Hey, Sonic," came his subdued reply.

The hedgehog was lounging in a tree a few branches up, watching the sunrise. "You ready?" he asked without looking down.

The armadillo looked at his own clenched fist. He would never be able to compensate his friend for what he had lost. Mighty didn't regret the decision he made that day; he'd gone over it in his head a hundred times and come to terms with the fact that there was nothing more he could've done. Still, this was probably going to be his only chance to help ease Sonic's burden for a long time, and he was _not_ going to let it pass him by. "Let's go." He hopped out of the hammock and looked around at their camp for a moment when there was a soft thud behind him.

"We'll come back for it." Sonic was standing a couple feet away. "It'll only slow us down."

"So the factory is close by?" Mighty was watching him closely.

"Yeah." Sonic was gazing at something the armadillo could not see. "It's just a few miles south of here."

Mighty raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little too close? We practically slept in their backyard."

The hedgehog shrugged without looking at him. "It saves some travel time."

Mighty put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I guess so…"

"Come on." Sonic began "lightly jogging" off through the trees. Mighty grabbed his staff and had to run hard just to keep pace with him.

After a few moments, Sonic suddenly stopped and raised a hand behind him. Mighty stuttered to a hasty stop at the signal. He watched with amusement as the hedgehog jumped off of a boulder into a vine, swung around, jumped onto a random branch, and sprang up into the dense leaves of a tall oak. The armadillo was just wondering whether he should try to follow when Sonic reappeared on the ground in front of him. "It's old-school," he said without emotion.

"How old?" Mighty knew he was referring to the defenses surrounding the factory.

"Like, Badnik old." He began counting on his fingers. "Two Swat-bots at the door, four on patrol, three Buzzbombers, and an obvious camera."

"Ok… I'll take the patrol, while you-"

"Take out the camera and clip some wings." Sonic's dull green eyes looked slightly glazed over in the light.

Mighty nodded. "Yeah, then we rush the guards and bust inside."

"Get ready," was his partner's simple response. Mighty turned to face him.

Sonic breathed deeply and closed his eyes. He flexed his quills so they spread out, pointed and dangerous. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were narrower, and slanted back. His focused pupils burned inside surrounding emerald fire that shone like gems in the sunlight.

Mighty nearly smiled at the resurfacing of the Sonic he remembered, except that the shining grin that usually covered his face was still noticeably absent. In its place was a small, angry scowl in the corner of the hedgehog's mouth. Without warning, Sonic shot off through the bushes toward the factory like a bullet.

"Whoa!" Mighty sprinted after his friend, and was quickly spotted by a couple Swat-bots.

The two 'bots immediately aimed their laser rifles at him. So predictable. He jumped forward and rolled into a ball to avoid their shots, popped up, and slammed his staff with both hands into the side of the nearest Swat-bot, sending it careening into the other. By now Sonic had smashed the camera above the door and was leaping from one aerial foe to the next before they could even aim their weapons at him, and the other two patrolling 'bots noticed Mighty. A head had popped off of one of the 'bots he had destroyed, and the armadillo swatted it with his staff causing the crimson visor on the front of it to shatter and rain blood-like glass all over the ground. The severed head flew into the chest of another and caused a hearty explosion, but Mighty was already half-way through a spinning motion before it hit. He snapped his body around and threw his staff from his right hand at the remaining patrol 'bot and ducked its final shot. The pole flew straight through the air at high speed, and impaled the remaining 'bot square in the visor. It trembled violently and fell to ground when Mighty noticed Sonic beckoning him from the door to the factory. He retrieved his staff, adjusted his scarf, and made his way over.

"Took out the guards too?" he said as he trotted up to the large door.

"I got bored," came Sonic's uninterested reply. "Can you open this?"

"No problem." Mighty approached the ancient metal door in front of them with an appraising eye. Where it wasn't rusted brown, the metal was a dull gray and covered in vines, mold, and various other overgrowth. It was in such bad condition it ought to come down with a single, solid punch, he thought as he tightened his right glove. It was strange though, as Robotnik had always liked to keep his factories in good shape, even the ones he didn't actively use anymore. "Here we go." He drew back his fist for a moment, then let it fly right into the middle of the door in the form of a devastatingly powerful straight. It made a horrible grinding sound for a second as Mighty's fist plowed into it, making a huge dent in the center, and ripping the whole thing right off the hinges. The wreck of twisted metal flew back into the factory a good ten feet before crashing to the floor. It slid a bit with an abnormally loud shriek that made both of their ears lie flat against their skulls. "Well," he said when the noise stopped echoing, "That was hardly subtle."

Sonic shrugged as he walked by the armadillo and into the factory. "We ever?"

"Just like old times."

"Yeah. C'mon."

Mighty walked to catch up, then took a quick look around. The door they came through appeared to be along a side wall of the factory, which looked just like every other one of Robotnik's factories they'd ever been in. Which means there was an assembly line running the length of the place in the middle slowly churning out SWATbots, with great numbers of them on patrol throughout the large square room. Strangely, none of them seemed to notice the commotion of their entrance. Mighty looked closer at the assembly line, and noticed several mechanical arms picking up and dropping pieces of 'bot here and there about the factory. He pointed and said, "I can stop the production easy enough. I'll just need you to get their attention first, I think."

Sonic turned in the direction he was pointing and watched a crane-like arm pick up some metal and drop it on the central conveyor belt. "Going up?" he asked after guessing what his partner was planning.

Mighty nodded.

"Then I'll cause some trouble on the other end first. Be quick, I don't want to waste any time." And with that, Sonic set off at blinding speed around the outer perimeter of the factory, coming to rest at the opposite end behind a bin full of parts. Mighty ducked behind a nearby pile of compressed metallic junk as the newly alerted SWATbots swiveled their domed heads. Having noticed what must have been nothing more than a slight breeze, they soon continued on their rounds about the facility.

From across the room, Mighty gave Sonic a thumbs-up.

The hedgehog jumped on top of the bin, took a breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "HEY BUCKET-HEADS!"

Thirty or so scarlet visors turned to face the intruder at the sudden disturbance.

"Guess who?"

"Priority One: hedgehog!" their voice synthesizers rang out as one, each 'bot raising an arm at him in turn before firing lasers from their wrist blasters.

Mighty didn't wait to see what Sonic would do next, mainly because he knew the hedgehog would probably be moving too fast for him to follow anyway. Instead he opened his mouth and clenched his staff in his teeth, as he would need both hands for the maneuvers he was about to attempt. He looked up at the nearest crane-like extension from the ceiling and ran for the pile of robotic limbs it was headed for. The arm came down and opened up, preparing to scoop up a few and place them on the conveyor belt. The armadillo jumped up and grabbed onto it, planting his feet on top of the claw that held the 'bot parts.

While the arm was going back up, he snuck a peek at the situation down below and what his partner was up to. About half of the original patrol had been obliterated, and airborne reinforcements were starting to fly in from panels that opened up in the walls. Sonic was just a blue streak, constantly moving, both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Mighty knew the hedgehog's style well enough to know that he wasn't even trying in the slightest, as he hadn't thrown a single punch yet. He was only running and jumping in erratic patterns, watching the opposition destroy itself with its own blasters. All to give Mighty a bit of time to shut the factory down, he reminded himself and returned to the task at hand.

The mechanism he was hanging onto had retracted back up to the ceiling, and began moving along its programmed route toward the belt. Mighty knew this one would pass pretty closely by another, and soon as it did he reached out with one hand and grabbed it. The second arm tried to keep moving, but it couldn't escape the armadillo's powerful grip. After a moment of screeching and creaking metal, the arm Mighty was standing on broke near the top and he swung around, hanging from the second arm with the first still in his hand.

"Ooooooh kay…." he mumbled to himself while dangling from the machine with the staff still between his teeth. He meant to pull off the _other_ arm, but this could work too. He continued hanging and letting the crane move him along until he moved close by another. He adjusted his grip on the arm he had torn from the ceiling, and used it to smash the part of the mechanism that was passing him by until it no longer moved. A couple seconds later he passed by another arm, and smashed that one in the same manner. There was a louder-than-normal explosion somewhere behind and under him, and despite the precarious situation he was in his curiosity got the better of him.

A third wave of robotic guards had begun attacking Sonic down below, who was starting to fight more seriously now. These looked a lot like the outdated SWATbots, but were much larger, colored black, and a bit smarter. But what were Shadowbots doing here? This plant was way too old and decrepit for it to be making those, he was certain. Something seemed amiss here, but as intriguing as the situation was, he had a job to do, and idle speculation wasn't helping. Unfortunately his makeshift sledgehammer wouldn't help for much longer either, as it was about ready to fall apart from all the smashing.

"Well…" he thought to himself in preparation, concentrating on how he would pull off this next part. "Here goes nothing!"

As soon as he floated above the conveyor belt again, Mighty let go and dropped toward it, raising the broken piece of machinery high in the air above his head as he fell. At the last possible moment he swung it downward with all his force, utterly destroying his tool and causing major damage to the belt. He had plowed it so far into the floor that when parts reached that spot on the assembly line they simply fell back off again. That ought to do it. Now he had to help Sonic finish off the last few bots… which had seemed to increase in number again since he last looked. There were even meaner bots in the mix now, painted in various camouflage patterns as well as slightly smaller and more humanoid-looking than the Shadowbots, but with a much more lethal array of weapons and the A.I. to use them effectively. They were Combots, and their presence here confirmed the armadillo's suspicions more than anything else that something was up with this place.

All of the other types of bot had been wiped out by Sonic, and only the most dangerous type remained. Now that his own mission was accomplished, Mighty decided to leap into the fray and help his friend by throwing his staff at an adversary behind the hedgehog. The advanced machine put an arm in front of its face to block it, but Mighty was already crouched low in front of it by the time it lowered it. The super-powered armadillo unleashed a jumping uppercut to its chin so powerful that the machine was completely lifted into the air along with its head popping clean off and rocketing into the ceiling. The sudden disturbance caused a few other robots to turn and assess the new threat, unwittingly giving Sonic a free chance to rip them to shreds in about a second flat.

"Nice one!" the armadillo complemented his teammate.

"Uh-huh," he returned absently after skidding to a stop at Mighty's back. "Watch yourself, these guys are tricky," he added before speeding off to take on a couple more.

Even with three of them gone at once, there were still a fair number left, and those were just the ones they could see. Though he had never tangled with them himself before, Mighty knew Combots had advanced cloaking abilities, meaning there were almost certainly a couple lurking about, waiting for the right moment to strike. Rather than waste time and let them do so, the armadillo decided to charge one he could see. He didn't get very far though, as after a few steps he suddenly felt his neck being constricted and his legs flew from under him, sending his back to the ground. Sure enough, he had been grabbed by the scarf from behind, where there was no one. Before he could retaliate his invisible adversary had jerked him up and over itself, slamming his face into the metal floor next to his staff. A brutal attack like that would render an average Mobian unconscious or worse, but at this point Mighty was more aggravated than injured, though it was getting quite difficult to breathe.

"Mighty!" he heard Sonic call, in between his sparring with the other Combots. "You okay?"

Rather than answer directly, the armadillo responded by grabbing his staff from the ground and smacking his opponent's wrist hard enough for it to release his scarf and then hastily scrambling to his feet to adjust it so he could breathe again. His blow to the wrist had frazzled the invisibility of the Combot that assaulted him, and it flickered in and out of vision a couple times before it decided to turn it off. The other machine that Mighty intended to rush before had now come over by the second, and it had activated another of their unique weapons. The robot was holding a short whip, which wouldn't be all that dangerous if it weren't crackling and sputtering with electricity down its entire length.

"Oh, come on…" the armadillo mused to himself, quite annoyed at this point.

The deadly whip came down, wrapping itself around his outstretched staff and nearly wrenching it from his grip. Fortunately his adversary seemed to forget he was dealing with an opponent whose strength was off the charts, especially when bothered. Mighty actually laughed at the robot's futile attempt to disarm him and returned the favor by jerking his staff back hard, causing the Combot holding the whip to fly forward and land on its belly in front of him. Instead of getting up, the machine dialed up the power on its whip, probably trying to electrocute him through his own metal staff. This supposedly more intelligent foe had made a second grave mistake in a row, however.

"You know, there's a reason we all wear these rubber gloves," he said, completely undaunted by the opposition. "I bet that'll work pretty well on _you_ though!" And with that he stabbed the downed bot right in the neck with the bottom of his staff. The metallic construct immediately began to convulse and seize on the ground, its internal circuitry being burnt to nothing by its own weapon until the glow died out from the whip and the machine moved no more. The other Combot facing Mighty seemed to learn from the mistakes of the first, as it decided to fire a rocket from the launcher on its wrist instead of engaging him directly.

"Uh-oh," he stated dumbly as his eyes went wide in surprise. At that point instinct took over, and the armadillo curled up into a defensive ball just before the projectile struck him, the resulting explosion tossing him into a pile of junk across the room. The furious armadillo uncurled and threw his arms upward all in one motion, bursting forth from the pile of junk with a loud yell and sending parts flying everywhere. Immediately he ran low at the offending robot and plowed his empty fist right into its knee-cap, shattering that section into a million pieces and separating its leg from the rest of it altogether.

Caught off-guard, the machine lost its balance and began to teeter to one side as Mighty jumped up and slammed his staff into its opposite shoulder, heavily denting it inward and rendering it inoperable. The desperate Combot crashed onto its side while trying to take aim and fire again with its remaining arm, but Mighty wasn't having that.

"Oh no you don't!" he yelled while stabbing the launcher on its wrist right down the barrel with his staff and forcefully yanking it out again. The weapon crackled with electricity and exploded, taking the rest of the bot's arm with it. Thoroughly defeated and without any further means of attack, the mechanical soldier simply lay on its side and waited for destruction, which Mighty promptly delivered. The last thing it would ever process would be the armadillo's foot forcefully crashing through its metallic skull. Fuming, the red-shelled mammal looked about in search of more foes to pummel. Instead he found a blue hedgehog surrounded by robotic remains, standing with his arms crossed and his head swiveling about, surveying the factory.

"Looks like that was the last of 'em," he said to the armadillo, the emerald flare gone from his eyes once more. He turned to leave as he said, "Now let's get out of- UGH!" the hedgehog was interrupted by a laser blast grazing his shoulder, causing him to lurch forward slightly.

"Sonic!" Mighty yelled in alarm as he rushed to his friend's aid. He could see a Combot phasing in and out of view a ways behind the hedgehog, barrel smoking and aiming for another shot. After the first few hurried steps he was stopped in his tracks by yet another unseen force, this time feeling something hard slam into his chest. Before he could re-orient himself, he felt a cold, metallic grip on both of his arms as he was hoisted up into the air. He could still see Sonic in front of him, frantically darting about the room, just barely managing to dodge all the laser blasts seeming to come from nowhere. He had to do something; not even Sonic could keep that up forever, especially since it looked like there were even more of them still standing and shooting than they had destroyed already!

Luckily, Mighty had been in this situation more than once, and knew what to do about it. The armadillo leaned his head back as far as he could, then quickly tucked forward and tried to curl into a ball. He didn't quite get there, but it was still enough to flip both of the Combots holding him up off of him and onto their sides. He had just enough time to scoop up his staff from where it landed on the ground and pierce one of the downed machines through the optics before Sonic suddenly appeared in front of him and stopped, his expression one of unbridled fury.

"Armor up!" the hedgehog demanded shortly. "Now!" he shouted in a tone that left little room for argument.

Without hesitation Mighty jumped straight up and curled into a ball once more, the ends of his staff poking out of the sides. Sonic hopped and spun once, twice, three times around in the air before delivering a frighteningly powerful kick to the balled armadillo, sending him flying about the room, all the while spinning at insane speeds. He randomly crashed into one bot after another as he skittered and bounced along the ground, the ends of his staff twirling around and around him like a deadly propeller.

The armadillo couldn't really see where he was going or much less control himself, but he felt every impact and heard every crunch, scrape, and explosion as he blindly flew around the factory. He could hear Sonic doing much the same, the tell-tale whirs and screeches of his spin-dash echoing throughout the metal complex and mingling with his own crashes and bangs. When Mighty began to slow, Sonic would fly in out of nowhere and bounce off of him at an angle, renewing his spin and velocity as the two continued their frenzied dance of destruction. In only a matter of seconds, the entire floor of the factory had been turned into a high-speed demolition zone the likes of which no mechanical foe, invisible or otherwise, could hope to escape.

Needless to say, Sonic's plan to wipe out the opposition had been effective. Brutally so, Mighty thought as he finally slowed to a point he could control his trajectory and ease up on all the spinning. When he finally managed to stop himself and uncurl, he found he couldn't exactly stand up properly. "WhoooOOAA!" he stammered as he stumbled about for a moment, his head still spinning erratically, before he finally lost it and fell to his side. He shut his eyes to try and combat the dizziness, and upon failing, opened them again to see three of Sonic's concerned, upside-down face in front of his own as he lie on the ground.


End file.
